The Book Of Wisdom.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Douay-Rheims Bible.

Illustration from Preserving Christian Publications at

http://www.pcpbooks.net/prestashop/55721.html

The following two paragraphs are taken from Wikisource

The Douay-Rheims Bible, also known as the Rheims-Douai Bible or Douai Bible and abbreviated as D-R, is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English. The New Testament was published in one volume with extensive commentary and notes in 1582. The Old Testament followed in 1609–10 in two volumes, also extensively annotated. The notes took up the bulk of the volumes and had a strong polemical and patristic character. They also offered insights on issues of translation, and on the Hebrew and Greek source texts of the Vulgate. The purpose of the version, both the text and notes, was to uphold Catholic tradition in the face of the Protestant Reformation which was heavily influencing England. As such, it was an impressive effort by English Catholics to support the Counter-Reformation.

The Douay–Rheims Bible, however, achieved little currency, even among English-speaking Catholics, until it was substantially revised between 1749 and 1752 by Richard Challoner, an English bishop, formally appointed to the deserted See of Debra. Challoner's revisions borrowed heavily from the King James Version, whose translators had themselves borrowed from the original Rheims NT of 1582. Challoner not only addressed the odd prose and many of the Latinisms, but produced a version which, while still called the Douay–Rheims, was little like it. At the same time, he aimed for improved readability and comprehensibility, rephrasing obscure and obsolete terms and construction; and in the process, consistently removing ambiguities of meaning that the original Rheims–Douay version had striven to retain.— Excerpted from Douay-Rheims Bible on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Book of Wisdom, often referred to simply as Wisdom or the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, is one of the books of the Bible, which are considered deuterocanonical by some Churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church, and non-canonical or apocryphal by others, such as the Protestant Churches. It is one of the seven Sapiential or wisdom books or bound with the Septuagint, along with Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), and Sirach.

Some opine that Melito of Sardis, in the 2nd-Century A.D., considered Wisdom of Solomon as part of the Old Testament (without necessarily using the term "canonical"). Some may opine that it was considered canonical by Jews and Christians. On the other hand, the contrary claim has been made: "In the catalogue of Melito, presented by Eusebius, after Proverbs, the word Wisdom occurs, which nearly all commentators have been of opinion is only another name for the same book, and not the name of the book now called 'The Wisdom of Solomon'." A Hebrew translation of the Wisdom of Solomon is mentioned by Naḥmanides in the preface to his commentary on the Pentateuch.

The Book of Wisdom should not be confused with the Wisdom of Sirach, a work from the 2nd-Century B.C., originally written in Hebrew.

The book is believed to have been written in the Greek language, but in a style patterned on that of Hebrew verse. Although the author's name is nowhere given in the text, the writer was traditionally believed to be King Solomon because of references, such as that found in IX:7-8, "Thou hast chosen me to be a king of thy people, and a judge of thy sons and daughters: Thou hast commanded me to build a temple upon thy holy mount . . ."

The formulation here is similar to that of Ecclesiastes I:12, "I, Koheleth, was king in Jerusalem over Israel," which also fails to denote Solomon by name, but leaves no doubt as to whom the reader should identify as the author. King Josiah was king in Israel; he built (repaired) the temple; like Ezra, who came after him, he preached the law of the Lord to the kahal, the assembly of the people; and he is praised as being greater and wiser than any king who came before him, greater and wiser than Solomon, who sinned. 

The praise of Josiah's wisdom parallels the words found in Ecclesiastes I:16, "Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem . . ." The early Christian community showed some awareness that the book was not actually authored by Solomon, as the Muratorian fragment notes that the book was "written by the friends of Solomon in his honour." By the early Mediaeval period, it was held to have been written by a Hellenised Jew, named Jesus, around 70 B.C.

The traditional attribution of The Book of Wisdom to Solomon has been soundly rejected in modern times. Says the Catholic Encyclopedia: "At the present day, it is freely admitted that Solomon is not the writer of the Book of Wisdom, which has been ascribed to him, because its author, through a literary fiction, speaks as if he were the Son of David." 

Although the book of Wisdom is also called the Wisdom of Solomon, it was most likely composed centuries after the death of King Solomon. Scholars believe that the book represents the most literary post-classical Greek language found in the Septuagint, having been written during the Jewish Hellenistic period (the 2nd-Century or 1st-Century B.C.). The author of the text appears well versed in the popular philosophical, religious, and ethical writings adopted by Hellenistic Alexandria.

The philosophical influences on the Book of Wisdom may include those of Middle-Platonism. Some religious and ethical influences may also stem from Stoicism, found in the writings of the Alexandrian Jew, Philo, to whom Book of Wisdom has on occasion been wrongly attributed. (This is evident in the use of the four Stoic ideals which are borrowed from Plato.) A sorites appears in Chapter 6 (v. 17-20). This logical form is also called chain-inference, "of which the Stoics were very fond."

One passage (Wis. 8:2-18) has notable similarity to Virtue's speech to Heracles in Xenophon's Memorabilia, Book 2, 1:37.

Although the Book of Wisdom is non-canonical in the Rabbinical Jewish tradition, the work was at least known to Mediaeval Jews, as Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (Ramban)attests. That it was known to ancient Jews, as well, is trivially true, as that was the milieu of its composition.

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the last section (9:18-19:22) is devoid of all connection with what precedes it. The speaker is no longer Solomon, but the author or the Saints (16:28, 18:6 et passim), who recite the history of Israel's redemption from Egypt and other enemies. In like manner, the words are not addressed to the kings of the earth (9:18; 10:20; 11:4, 9, 17, 21; et passim), but to God, the deliverer from the Red Sea. The whole appears on close observation to be part of a Passover Haggadah recited in Egypt with reference to Gentile surroundings, and it accordingly abounds in genuine haggadic passages of an ancient character.

It is of some interest that the philosophy, which the Book of Wisdom in Chapter II puts in the mouths of the "ungodly," presumably the Epicureans, bears strong literary resemblance to a prominent passage from the Jewish High Holiday liturgy: "Man begins from dust and ends in dust" (אדם יסודו מעפר וסופו לעפר) from the Unetanneh Tokef prayer (cf. Genesis 3:19: כי‏ ‏עפר‏ ‏אתה‏ ‏ואל‏ ‏עפר‏ ‏תשוב). The relevant verses from Book of Wisdom (II:2-5) read in part, "the breath in our nostrils is as smoke... our body shall be turned to ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air... our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud... and shall be dispersed as a mist... for our time is a very shadow that passeth away." The Unetanneh Tokef prayer seems to offer a close parallel: "As to man, his origin is dust and his end is dust... he is like a broken vessel of clay, like withering grass, a fading flower, a passing shadow, a drifting cloud, a fleeting breath, scattering dust, a transient dream."

If this similarity is more than coincidence or the common citation of a third text, such as Isaiah 40:7, it would not be the only instance of Apocryphal influences on the Jewish liturgy. Elements of Ben Sira are also found in the High Holiday service and other prayers.

There are found in the Book of Wisdom and other books of the wisdom literature to Wisdom as a personification with divine attributes.

In chapter seven, Wisdom is said to be “the fashioner of all things” (v. 22). Because she fashions all things, is “an associate in his [God’s] works” (8:4), and is a “pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty” (7:25), Wisdom is eternal and one in being (consubstantial) with the Father.

Because Wisdom is God’s “creative agent”, she must be intimately identified with God himself. It has been claimed that the most definite indication that personified Wisdom refers to the Messiah is the alleged paraphrasing of Wis 7:26 in Heb 1:3a. 

Wis 7:26 says that “she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.” The author of Hebrews says of Christ: “He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.”

Furthermore, Wisdom speaks of personified Wisdom in a Trinitarian way at 9:17: “Who has learned your counsel, unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?”. The next verse says that salvation is an act of Wisdom. In Christianity, salvation is an activity reserved for God, but it is here given to Wisdom, thus identifying them with one another.

Some may see the second chapter of the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom 2) as building up to a prophecy of Christ’s Passion. First, the ungodly men are described (Wis 1:16-2:9), followed by their plotting against the righteous man (2:10-20). The passage describes in detail the treatment of Jesus by the Jewish authorities. The first indication for some that it is a prophecy of the Messiah is in verse 11. Where the RSV reads "weak", the Greek has "achreston" (ἄχρηστον), which some may claim is a play on the title Christos (Χριστός).

Verse 12 is a quote of the LXX version of Is 3:10; Is 3:10 was allegedly taken to refer to Jesus in the 1st-Century Epistle of Barnabas. On the whole, this treatment of the suffering of the righteous man is heavily indebted to Isaiah; particularly the fourth Suffering Servant song (Is 52:13-53:12). Verse 13 uses pais (παῖς), child or servant, from Is 52:13. Verse 15 says his very sight is a burden, referencing Is 53:2. In verse 16, he calls God his father, which is thought to be based on a poor understanding of pais, as in Is 52:13. Verse 18 is comparable to Is 42:1. Verse 19 makes reference to Is 53:7. A final reference to the Messiah is the righteous man’s “shameful death” in verse 20. This death has been identified with Jesus’ death on a Cross, a cursed death hanging on a tree.

In the realm of Bible criticism and theology, all sorts of opinions are held by all sorts of persons, whether ordinary persons or university professors. Some opine that the Gospel of Matthew may contain allusions to the Wisdom of Solomon in the structuring of Matthew's Passion Narrative. Supposed parallels between Wisdom and Matthew include the theme of testing, and the mocking of a servant of God's claim to be protected by God. Matthew's gospel teaches that Jesus is the suffering servant of God.

As another example of the myriad opinions and interpretations of the Bible: While some think that Wis 2:17-18, “Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries,” was an influence on Mt 27:43, “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”, it is more natural to see it as a reference to Ps 22:8: “He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.”

Zephyrinus Denies Being A Peruvian Swamp Lily.

Peruvian Swamp Lily

(Zephyranthus).

Photo: 28 March 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: M.arunprasad.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Zephyrinus recently had the indignity of being called a Peruvian Swamp Lily (botanical name Zephyranthus).

Whilst acknowledging that the said Lily is, in fact, an attractive flower, and that Peru is a fine South American country, well worth visiting, and a Swamp is a great source of benefit to both flora and fauna, it cannot go unchallenged that Zephyrinus is such a specimen.

It is to be hoped that that is the end of the matter.

Any further innuendi is either a typographical error or Eccles 'aving a larf !!!

Eccles operates from http://ecclesandbosco.blogspot.co.uk/

Morning Prayer. An Act Of Adoration And Thanksgiving.

Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal (Morning Prayers).

Monk at Prayer.

From the film “Into Great Silence”.

Picture Credit from the Blog, 

"Mundus Tranquillare Hic" 

(The World Is Quiet Here), at 

http://www.thomryng.com/amateurmonk/benedict-in-retrospect/great-silence-4/

Morning Prayer.

An Act Of Adoration And Thanksgiving.

O Eternal God !

Father, Son and Holy Ghost;

The beginning and end of all things;

In whom we live, and move, and have our being;

Prostrate before Thee in body and Soul,

I adore Thee with the most profound humility.

I Bless Thee, and give Thee thanks,

For all the benefits Thou hast conferred upon me;

Especially that Thou hast created me out of nothing,

Made me after Thine own image and likeness,

Redeemed me with the precious Blood of Thy Son,

and sanctified me with Thy Holy Spirit.

I thank Thee that Thou hast called me into Thy Church,

Assisted me by Thy Grace,

Admitted me to Thy Sacraments,

Watched over me by Thy special providence;

Blessed me, notwithstanding my sins and unworthiness,

With the continuance of Thy gracious protection;

And for all the innumerable Blessings,

Which I owe to Thy undeserved bounty.

I thank Thee especially for having preserved me during the past night,

And for bringing me in safety to the beginning of another day.

What return can I make to Thee, O my God,

For all that Thou hast done for me ?

I will Bless Thy Holy Name,

And serve Thee all the days of my life.

Bless the Lord, O my Soul,

And let all that is within me

Praise His Holy Name.

Amen.

Chartres Cathedral (Part Four).

Text and Illustration from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Chartres Cathedral. Stained-Glass Window of the Vendome Chapel, circa 1415.

Français: Cathédrale de Chartres - Vitraux de la chapelle Vendôme.

Photo: August 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: MOSSOT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the last decade, the fabric of the Cathedral has seen an almost continuous programme of cleaning and restoration. In recent years, a major project has been underway to clean all the Stone Vaults of the Choir and Nave and repaint them in emulation of the 13th-Century polychromy.

The Cathedral is still the Seat of the Bishop of Chartres, of the Diocese of Chartres, though in the Ecclesiastical Province of Tours.

The Plan is Cruciform. A Two-Bay Narthex, at the Western End, opens into a Seven-Bay Nave, leading to The Crossing, from which wide Transepts extend Three Bays each to North and South. East of The Crossing are four rectangular Bays, terminating in a semi-circular Apse. 

The Nave and Transepts are flanked by Single Aisles, broadening to a Double-Aisled Ambulatory around the Choir and Apse. From the Ambulatory, radiate three deep semi-circular Chapels (overlying the deep Chapels of Fulbert's 11th-Century Crypt) and four much shallower ones. Of the latter, one was effectively lost in the 1320s, when the Chapel of Saint Piat was built.

Deutsch: Wandfläche mit Triforium.

English: Three tiers of wall structure of Chartres Cathedral: 

Arcade; Triforium; Clerestory (with 2 windows united by a small, round, Rosette window).

Photo: August 2006.

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Triforium_Chartres.jpg.

Author: BjörnT, BT from German Wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The elevation of the Nave is Three-Storeyed, with Arcade, Triforium and Clerestory levels. By eschewing the Gallery level, that featured in many Early-Gothic Cathedrals (normally between Arcade and Triforium), the designers were able to make the richly-glazed Arcade and Clerestory levels larger and almost equal in height, with just a narrow dark Triforium in between. 

Although not the first example of this Three-Part Elevation, Chartres was perhaps the first of the great Churches to make a success of it and to use the same design consistently throughout. The result was a far greater area of window openings. These windows were entirely glazed with densely-coloured glass, which resulted in a relatively dark Interior – but one which accentuated the richness of the glass and the coloured light that filtered through them.

Increasing the size of the windows meant reducing the wall area, considerably, something which was made possible only by the extensive use of Flying Buttresses on the outside. These Buttresses supported the considerable lateral thrusts resulting from the 34m-high Stone Vaults, higher and wider than any attempted before in France. These Vaults were quadripartite, each Bay split into four webs by two diagonally-crossing Ribs, unlike the Sexpartite Vaults adopted in many earlier Gothic Cathedrals, such as at Laon.

Another architectural breakthrough, at Chartres, was a resolution to the problem of how to arrange attached Columns, or Shafts, around a Pier, in a way that worked aesthetically – but which also satisfied the desire for structural logic, that characterised French High-Gothic.

Chartres Cathedral marks the high point of French Gothic art.

The vast Nave, in pure ogival style, the Porches adorned with fine sculptures from the middle of the 12th-Century, and the magnificent 12th- and 13th-Century Stained-Glass Windows, all in remarkable condition, combine to make it a masterpiece.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/9727p6ozlYo.

The Nave, at Chartres, features alternating Round and Octagonal Solid-Cored Piers, each of which has four attached Half-Columns at the Cardinal Points: Two of these (on the East-West axis) support the Arches of the Arcade; one acts as the Springing for the Aisle Vault; and one supports the cluster of Shafts, that rise through the Triforium and Clerestory, to support the High-Vault Ribs. This Pier design, known as Pilier Cantonné, was to prove highly influential and subsequently featured in a number of other High-Gothic Churches.

Although the sculpture, on the Portals, at Chartres is generally of a high standard, the various carved elements inside, such as the Capitals and String Courses, are relatively poorly finished (when compared, for example, with those at Reims or Soissons) – the reason is simply that the Portals were carved from the finest Parisian limestone, or ' 'calcaire' ', while the internal Capitals were carved from the local Berchere stone, that is hard to work and can be brittle.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Chartres Cathedral is the extent to which architectural structure has been adapted to meet the needs of Stained Glass. The use of a Three-Part Elevation, with external buttressing, allowed for far larger windows than earlier designs, particularly at the Clerestory level. Most Cathedrals of the period had a mixture of windows containing plain, or grisaille, glass and windows containing dense, Stained Glass panels, with the result that the brightness of the former tended to diminish the impact and legibility of the latter. 

At Chartres, nearly all of the 176 windows were filled with equally dense Stained Glass, creating a relatively dark, but richly coloured, interior, in which the light, filtering through the myriad narrative and symbolic windows, was the main source of illumination.

The West Façade (Portail Royale), 

Chartres Cathedral.

Photo: 12 November 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Photo:Nina Aldin Thune User:Nina-no.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The majority of the windows, now visible at Chartres, were made and installed between 1205 and 1240, however, four Lancets preserve panels of Romanesque glass from the 12th-Century, which survived the fire of 1195. Three of these are located beneath the Rose Window in the West Façade; the Passion window, to the South, the Infancy of Christ, in the centre, and a Tree of Jesse, to the North. 

All three of these windows were originally made around 1145, but were restored in the Early-13th-Century and, again, in the 19th-Century. The other 12th-century window, perhaps the most famous at Chartres, is the, so-called, Belle Verrière, found in the first Bay of the Choir, after the South Transept. This window is actually a composite; the upper part, showing the Virgin and Child surrounded by adoring Angels, dates from around 1180 and was probably positioned at the centre of the Apse in the earlier building. 

The Virgin is depicted wearing a blue robe and sitting in a frontal pose on a throne, with the Christ Child seated on her lap, raising His hand in Blessing. This composition, known as the Sedes sapientiae ('Throne of Wisdom'), which also appears on the Portail Royale, is based on the famous cult figure kept in the Crypt. The lower part or the window, showing scenes from the Infancy of Christ, dates from the main glazing campaign, around 1225.

Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/w8QRG-Xc6oU.

PART FIVE FOLLOWS.

Souvenir, 8 December 1854. Open To Me Your Immaculate Heart, O Mary. I Have Chosen It As Home.

Text and Illustration from the Blog, HOLY CARD HEAVEN at

http://holycardheaven.blogspot.co.uk/

THE MOST HIGH HAS SANCTIFIED HIS TABERNACLE.

LE TRES HAUT A SANCTIFIE SON TABERNACLE.

~ Psalm 45.

She is a garden enclosed and a fountain sealed.

C'est ici, le Jardin fermé et la fontaine scellée.

~ Song of Songs.

Open to me your Immaculate Heart, O Mary. 

I have chosen it as home.

Ouvrez-moi votre Coeur Immaculé, O Marie. 

Je l'ai choisi pour demeure.

Chartres Cathedral (Part Three).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Notre-Dame de la Belle Verrière.

Stained-Glass Window in the Choir of Chartres cathedral. 

The lower part depicts the Temptation of Christ. 

The two following parts relate the Marriage at Cana. 

12th-Century (parts with the red background) and 13th-Century.

Français: « Notre-Dame de la Belle Verrière », vitrail du chœur de la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres. Le registre inférieur évoque la Tentation du Christ. Les deux registres suivants relatent les Noces de Cana. XIIème siècle (panneaux sur fond rouge) et XIIIème siècle.

Photo: 7 February 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Eusebius (Guillaume Piolle).

(Wikimedia Commons)

It is important to remember that the builders were not working on a clean site, but would have had to clear back the rubble and surviving parts of the old Church, as they built the new. Nevertheless, work progressed rapidly. The South Porch, with most of its sculpture, was installed by 1210, and, by 1215, the North Porch had been completed and the Western Rose Window installed. 

The Nave High Vaults were erected in the 1220s; the Canons moved into their new Stalls in 1221, under a temporary Roof at the level of the Clerestory, and the Transept Roses were erected over the subsequent two decades. The High Vaults, over the Choir, were not built until the last years of the 1250s, as was re-discovered in the first decade of the 21st-Century.

Each arm of the Transept was originally meant to support two Towers, two more were to flank the Choir, and there was to have been a central Lantern over The Crossing  –  nine Towers in all. Plans for a Crossing Tower were abandoned in 1221 and The Crossing was Vaulted over. 

Work on the remaining six Towers continued at a slower pace for some decades, until it was decided to leave them without Spires (as at Laon Cathedral, and elsewhere). The Cathedral was Consecrated on 24 October 1260 in the presence of King Louis IX of France, whose Coat-of-Arms was painted over the Apsidal Boss.

Chartres Cathedral.

Sacred Geometry.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/BeC7s_UtL2M.

Compared with other Mediaeval Churches, relatively few changes have been made to the Cathedral since its Consecration. In 1323, a substantial two-storey construction was added at the Eastern End of the Choir, with a Chapel, dedicated to Saint Piat, in the Upper Floor, accessed by a staircase opening onto the Ambulatory (the Chapel of Saint Piat is normally closed to visitors, although it occasionally houses temporary exhibitions). The chamber, below the Chapel, served the Canons as their Chapter House.

Shortly after 1417, a small Chapel was placed between the Buttresses of the South Nave for the Count of Vendôme. At the same time, the small Organ, that had been built in the Nave Aisle, was moved up into the Triforium, where it remains, though some time in the 16th-Century it was replaced with a larger one on a raised platform at the Western End of the building. To this end, some of the interior Shafts, in the Western Bay, were removed and plans made to rebuild the Organ there. In the event, this plan was abandoned, the glass, in the Western Lancets, was retained and the old Organ was replaced with the present one.

Français: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. 

La clôture du chœur.

English: Chartres Cathedral, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. 

The monumental Screen, around the Choir.

Photo: 28 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1506, lightning destroyed the North Spire, which was rebuilt in the 'Flamboyant' style by local mason, Jehan de Beauce (who also worked on the Abbey Church in Vendôme). It is 113 metres high and took seven years to construct. After its completion, Jehan continued working on the Cathedral, and began the monumental Screen around the Choir Stalls, which was not completed until the beginning of the 18th-Century.

In 1757, a number of changes were made to the Interior, to increase the visibility of the Mass, in accordance with changing religious customs. The jubé (Choir Screen), that separated the Liturgical Choir from the Nave, was torn down and the present Stalls built (some of the magnificent sculpture from this Screen was later found buried underneath the Paving and preserved, though it is not on public display). At the same time, some of the Stained-Glass in the Clerestory was removed and replaced with grisaille windows, greatly increasing the illumination of the High Altar.

In 1836, the old lead-covered Roof, with its complex structure of timber supports (known as 'the forest') was destroyed by fire. It was replaced with a copper-clad Roof, supported by a network of cast iron ribs, known as the Charpente de fer. At the time, the framework over The Crossing had the largest span of any iron-framed construction in Europe.

The iron girder structure (known as the charpente de fer) 

supporting the Roof of Chartres Cathedral (view from Western End).

Photo: 18 August 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: StuartLondon.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral was damaged in the French Revolution, when a mob began to destroy the sculpture on the North Porch. This is one of the few occasions on which the anti-religious fervour was stopped by the townsfolk. The Revolutionary Committee decided to destroy the Cathedral, via explosives, and asked a local architect to organise it. 

He saved the building, by pointing out that the vast amount of rubble from the demolished building would so clog the streets it would take years to clear away. However, when metal was needed for the army, the brass plaque, in the centre of the Labyrinth, was removed and melted down  –  our only record of what was on the plaque was Felibien's description.

The Cathedral of Chartres was, therefore, neither destroyed nor looted during the French Revolution and the numerous restorations have not diminished its reputation as a triumph of Gothic Art. The Cathedral has been fortunate in being spared the damage suffered by so many during the Wars of Religion and the Revolution, though the lead Roof was removed to make bullets and the Directorate threatened to destroy the building, as its upkeep, without a Roof, had become too onerous.

Chartres Cathedral.

Sacred Geometry.

Available on YouTube at
http://youtu.be/_3PbecRbggg.

All the glass from the Cathedral was removed in 1939, just before the Germans invaded France, and it was cleaned after the War and re-leaded before replacing. While the city suffered heavy damage by bombing in the course of World War II, the Cathedral was spared by an American Army officer, who challenged the order to destroy it.

Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. questioned the strategy of destroying the Cathedral and volunteered to go behind enemy lines to find out whether the German Army was occupying the Cathedral and using it as an observation post. 

With a single Enlisted Soldier to assist, Griffith proceeded to the Cathedral and confirmed that the Germans were not using it. After he returned from his reconnaissance, he reported that the Cathedral was clear of enemy troops. The order to destroy the Cathedral was withdrawn, and the Allies later liberated the area. Griffith was killed "In Action" on 16 August 1944, in the town of Leves, near Chartres.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

Petition To Bishops To Consecrate England And Wales To The Immaculate Heart Of Mary.

Fr. Finigan has a most interesting Article, on the above, on his Blog, THE HERMENEUTIC OF CONTINUITY at http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.co.uk/

There is now A PETITION asking the Bishops to consecrate England and Wales to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 

Like Fr. Finigan, Zephyrinus encourages you to sign it, and to Pray for our Bishops.

Dedicatio Sanctæ Mariæ Ad Nives. Dedication Of The Church Of Our Lady Of The Snow.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Greater-Double.
White Vestments.

The Piazza Esquilino with the

Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major

(The Church of Our Lady of the Snow).

Italiano: Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore.

Latin: Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore is the largest Church in Rome

dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Author: Sixtus.

Photo: March 2006.

The Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, previously known as Dedicatio Sanctæ Mariæ ad Nives (Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snow), is a Liturgical Feast Day celebrated on 5 August in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church.

In the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, it has the rank of Optional Memorial, and, in the General Roman Calendar of 1962, it is a Third-Class Feast. It commemorates the Dedication of the restored Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore by Pope Sixtus III, just after the First Council of Ephesus.

This Major Basilica, located on the summit of the Esquiline Hill in Rome, is called the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Latin: Basilica Santa Mariæ Majoris) because it is the largest Church in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Church was originally built during the Pontificate of Pope Liberius, and is thus sometimes known as the "Basilica Liberii" or "Basilica Liberiana".

Deutsch: Gründung von Santa Maria Maggiore.

English: Foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.

Italiano: Fondazione della basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.

Artist: Masolino da Panicale (1383–1440).

Deutsch: 1. Drittel 15. Jh.

English: First third of 15th-Century.

Current location: Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. 

ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Pius V inserted this Feast into the General Roman Calendar in 1568, when, in response to the request of the Council of Trent, he reformed the Roman Breviary. Before that, it had been celebrated at first only in the Church, itself, and, beginning in the 14th-Century, in all the Churches of the city of Rome.

It thus appears in the Tridentine Calendar for celebration as a Double. In Pope Clement VIII's Missal of 1604, it was given the newly invented rank of Greater Double. In Pope John XIII's classification, it became a Third-Class Feast. This 1960 Calendar, included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, is the Calendar whose continued use privately and, under certain conditions, publicly, is authorised by the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. Nine years later, in 1969, the celebration became an Optional Memorial.

Until 1969, the Feast was known as Dedicatio Sanctæ Mariæ ad Nives (Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snow), a name that had become popular for the Basilica in the 14th-Century, in connection with a legend about its origin that the Catholic Encyclopedia summarises: "During the Pontificate of Liberius, the Roman patrician, John, and his wife, who were without heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary.

They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honour. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman Summer, snow fell during the night on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary, which they had the same night, the couple built a Basilica in honour of Mary on the very spot which was covered with snow.

English: Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Vatican, located in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Français: Basilique Sainte-Marie-Majeure, Vatican, située à Rome, Latium, Italie.

Photo: 16 September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

No Catholic Church can be honoured with the title of Basilica, unless by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom. Saint Mary Major is one of the only four Basilicas that today hold the title of Major Basilica. The other three are Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter and Saint Paul outside the Walls. (The title of Major Basilica was once used more widely, being attached, for instance, to the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi.) All the other Catholic Churches that, either by grant of the Pope or by immemorial custom, hold the title of Basilica are Minor Basilicas.

Until 2006, the four Major Basilicas, together with the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, were referred to as the five "Patriarchal Basilicas" of Rome, associated with the five ancient Patriarchal Sees of Christendom (see Pentarchy). Saint Mary Major was associated with the Patriarchate of Antioch. In the same year, the title of "Patriarchal" was also removed from the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.

The former five Patriarchal Basilicas, with the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem and San Sebastiano fuori le mura, formed the traditional Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, which are visited by pilgrims to Rome, following a 20 kilometres (12 miles) itinerary, established by Saint Philip Neri on 25 February 1552, especially when seeking the plenary indulgence in Holy Years. For the Great Jubilee of 2000, Pope John Paul II replaced Saint Sebastian's Church with the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love.

Libera Me. Responsorium: Missa Pro Defunctis. Manuel Cardoso (1566-1650).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Image: Google Images.

Líbera Me ("Deliver me") is a Roman Catholic Responsory that is sung in the Office of the Dead and at the Absolution of the Dead, a Service of Prayers for the Dead that is said beside the coffin, immediately after the Requiem Mass and before the Burial. 

The text of Libera Me asks God to have mercy upon the deceased person at the Last Judgement. In addition to the Gregorian Chant in the Roman Gradual, many composers have written Settings for the text, including Tomás Luis de Victoria, Anton Bruckner, Giuseppe Verdi, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, Krzysztof Penderecki and David Maslanka.

Líbera me, Dómine, de morte ætérna, in die illa treménda:
Quando cœli movéndi sunt et terra.
Dum véneris iudicáre sǽculum per ignem.
Tremens factus sum ego, et tímeo, dum discússio vénerit, atque ventúra ira.
Quando cœli movendi sunt et terra.
Dies illa, dies iræ, calamitátis et misériæ, dies magna et amára valde.
Dum véneris iudicáre sǽculum per ignem.
Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine: et lux perpétua lúceat eis.

Deliver me, O Lord, from death eternal on that fearful day,
When the Heavens and the Earth shall be moved,
When Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.
I am made to tremble, and I fear, till the judgement be upon us, and the coming wrath,
When the Heavens and the Earth shall be moved.
That day, day of wrath, calamity, and misery, day of great and exceeding bitterness,
When Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.
Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Libera Me is begun by a Cantor, who sings the Versicles, alone, and the Responses are sung by the Choir. The text is written in the first person singular, "Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death on that fearful day," a dramatic substitution, in which the Choir speaks for the dead person.

In the Traditional Office, Libera Me is also said on All Souls' Day (2 November) and whenever all three Nocturns, of Matins of the Dead, are recited. 

On other occasions, the Ninth Responsory, of Matins for the Dead, begins with "Libera Me", but continues with a different text (Domine, de viis inferni, etc.).

"Libera Me" a 4.

Manuel Cardoso (1566-1650).

Responsorium after Missa Pro Defunctis a 6.

The Tallis Scholars

Director: Peter Phillips.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/bJ3x_GtXvjA.

Manuel Cardoso (baptised 11 December 1566 – 24 November 1650) was a Portuguese composer and organist. With Duarte Lobo and John IV of Portugal, he represented the "golden age" of Portuguese polyphony.

Cardoso is not known to be related to an older contemporary composer of the same name; the precentor, Manuel Cardoso, who published a book of Latin passions "in Leiria", in 1575.

Cardoso was born in Fronteira, near Portalegre, most likely in 1566. He attended the Colégio dos Moços do Coro, a Choir School associated with the Évora Cathedral, studying with Manuel Mendes and Cosme Delgado. 

In 1588, he joined the Carmelite Order, taking his Vows in 1589. In the early 1620s, he was Resident at the Ducal Household of Vila Viçosa, where he was befriended by the Duke of Barcelos — later to become King John IV. For most of his career, he was the Resident Composer and Organist at the Carmelite Convento do Carmo in Lisbon.

Cardoso's works are models of Palestrinian polyphony, and are written in a refined, precise style, which completely ignores the development of the Baroque idiom elsewhere in Europe. His style has much in common with Tomás Luis de Victoria, in its careful treatment of dissonance, occasional polychoral writing, and frequent cross-relations, which were curiously common among both Iberian and English composers of the time. 

Three books of Masses survive; many of the works are based on Motets, written by King John IV, himself, and others are based on Motets by Palestrina. Cardoso was widely published, often with the help of King John IV, to defray costs. Many of his works — especially the elaborate polychoral compositions, which probably were the most progressive — were destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake and fire of 1755.

Chartres Cathedral (Part Two).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Français: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, 

Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. La façade nord.

English: Chartres Cathedral, Eure-et-Loir, 

Centre, France. The North Façade.

Photo: 27 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

There have been at least five Cathedrals on this site, each replacing an earlier building damaged by war or fire. Nothing survives of the earliest Church, which was destroyed during an attack on the City by the Danes in 858 A.D. Of the Carolingian Church that replaced it, all that remains is a semi-circular Chamber located directly below the centre of the present Apse. This Chamber, known as the Lubinus Crypt (named after the Mid-6th-Century Bishop of Chartres), is lower than the rest of the Crypt and may have been the Shrine of a local Saint, prior to the Church's re-dedication to The Virgin.

Another fire, in 962 A.D., is mentioned in the annals, though nothing is known about the subsequent rebuilding. A more serious conflagration occurred in 1020, after which Bishop Fulbert (Bishop from 1006 to 1028) began the construction of an entirely new building. Most of the present Crypt, which is the largest in France, dates from that period.

The rebuilding proceeded in phases over the next hundred years or so, culminating in 1145 in a display of public enthusiasm dubbed the "Cult of the Carts" – one of several such incidents recorded during the period. It was claimed that, during this religious outburst, a crowd of more than a thousand penitents dragged carts, filled with building supplies and provisions, including stones, wood, grain, etc, to the site.

English: Central tympanum of the Royal portal of Chartres Cathedral.

Français: Tympan central du portail royal de la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres.

Photo: 7 February 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: This photo was taken by Eusebius (Guillaume Piolle).

Feel free to reuse it, but always credit me as the Author, as specified below.

Attribution: © Guillaume Piolle / CC-BY-3.0.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1134, another fire damaged the Town, and perhaps part of the Cathedral. The North Tower was started immediately afterwards – the South Tower some time later. From the beginning, it was intended that these Towers flank a Central Porch of some sort and a Narthex.

When the North Tower rose to the level of the second storey, the South Tower was begun – the evidence lies in the profiles and in the Masons' marks on the two levels of the two Towers. Between them, on the first level, a Chapel was constructed to Saint Michael. Traces of the Vaults and the Shafts, which supported them, are still visible in the Western two Bays. This Chapel was probably Vaulted, and those Vaults saved the Western Glass. The Stained Glass, in the three Lancets over the Portals, date from sometime between 1145 and 1155, while the South Spire, some 103 metres high, was also completed by 1155.

Work was begun on the Royal Portal, with the South Lintel around 1136 and with all its sculpture installed up to 1141. Opinions are uncertain, as the sizes and styles of the Figures vary and some elements, such as the Lintel over the Right-Hand Portal, have clearly been cut down to fit the available spaces. 

The sculpture was originally designed for these Portals, but the layouts were changed by successive Masters (see careful lithic analysis by John James). Either way, most of the carving follows the exceptionally high standard typical of this period and exercised a strong influence on the subsequent development of Gothic Portal design.

Some of the Masters have been identified by John James, and drafts of these studies have been published on the web-site of the International Centre of Mediaeval Art, New York.

Chartres Cathedral.

Sacred Geometry.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/sQB_P6ECvE8.

On 10 June 1194, another fire caused extensive damage to Fulbert's Cathedral. The true extent of the damage is unknown, though the fact that the Lead Cames, holding the West Windows together, survived the conflagration intact, suggests contemporary accounts of the terrible devastation may have been exaggerated. Either way, the opportunity was taken to begin a complete rebuilding of the Choir and Nave in the latest style. The undamaged Western Towers and Façade were incorporated into the new works, as was the earlier Crypt, effectively limiting the designers of the new building to the same General Plan as its predecessor. In fact, the present building is only marginally longer than Fulbert's Cathedral.

One of the unusual features of Chartres Cathedral is the speed with which it was built – a factor which helped contribute to the consistency of its design. Even though there were innumerable changes to the details, the Plan remains remarkably consistent. The major change occurred six years after work began, when the seven deep Chapels, around the Choir opening off a Single Ambulatory, were turned into shallow recesses opening off a Double-Aisled Ambulatory.

Chartres Cathedral.
Sacred Geometry.
Available on YouTube at
http://youtu.be/puFsJQnPTyo.

Australian architectural historian, John James, who made a detailed study of the Cathedral, has estimated that there were about 300 men working on the site at any one time, although it has to be acknowledged that current knowledge of working practices at this time is somewhat limited. Normally, Mediaeval Churches were built from East to West, so that the Choir could be completed first and put into use (with a temporary wall sealing off the West End), while The Crossing and Nave were completed.

Canon Delaporte argued that building work started at The Crossing and proceeded outwards from there, but the evidence, in the stonework itself, is unequivocal, especially within the level of the Triforium. The Nave was at all times more advanced than the Ambulatory Bays of the Choir, and this has been confirmed by dendrochronology.

The history of the Cathedral has been plagued by more theories than any other, a singular problem for those attempting to discover the truth. For example, Louis Grodecki argued that the lateral doors of the Transept Portals were cut through the walls at a later date, and van der Meulen that they had wanted to rebuild the Western Portals (then only 50 years old).

None of these theories refer back to the actual stonework, and it is only when one has done so, as John James did exhaustively in 1969, that one realises that the construction process was in fact simple and logical.

PART THREE FOLLOWS.

Chartres Cathedral (Part One).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres from the South. 

A masterpiece of Gothic Architecture.

Photo: 25 August 2005.

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Chartres_cathedral.jpg.

Auhor: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Honge.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Mediaeval Roman Rite Catholic Cathedral located in Chartres, France, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) South-West of Paris. It is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic Architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current Cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1250, is the last of at least five Cathedrals, which have occupied the site since the town became a Bishopric in the 4th-Century.

The Cathedral is in an exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th-Century. The building's exterior is dominated by heavy Flying Buttresses, which allowed the architects to increase the window size significantly, while the West End is dominated by two contrasting Spires – a 105-metre (349 ft) plain pyramid, completed around 1160, and a 113-metre (377 ft) Early-16th-Century Flamboyant Spire on top of an older Tower. Equally notable, are the three great Façades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives.

Chartres Cathedral: Sacred Geometry.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/NeGdvTgROfw.

Since at least the 12th-Century, the Cathedral has been an important destination for travellers - and remains so to this day, attracting large numbers of Christian pilgrims, many of whom come to venerate its famous Relic, the Sancta Camisa, said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ's birth, as well as large numbers of secular tourists, who come to admire the Cathedral's architecture and historical merit.

Chartres Cathedral. 

Clerestory and Flying Buttresses.

Photo: August 2006.

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Strebewerk.jpg.

Author: BjörnT, BT from German Wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

As with any Mediaeval Bishopric, Chartres Cathedral was the most important building in the town – the centre of its economy, its most famous landmark and the focal point of many activities that, in modern towns, are provided for by specialised civic buildings.

In the Middle Ages, the Cathedral functioned as a kind of marketplace, with different commercial activities centred around the different Portals, particularly during the regular Fairs. Textiles were sold around the North Transept, while meat, vegetable and fuel sellers congregated around the South Porch. Money-changers (an essential service at a time when each town or region had its own currency) had their benches, or banques, near the West Portals and also in the Nave, itself. Wine sellers plied their trade in the Nave, although occasional 13th-Century ordinances survive which record them being temporarily banished to the Crypt, to minimise disturbances. Workers of various professions gathered in particular locations around the Cathedral, awaiting offers of work.

Although the town of Chartres was under the judicial and tax authority of the Counts of Blois, the area immediately surrounding the Cathedral, known as the cloître, was, in effect, a free-trade zone governed by the Church authorities, who were entitled to the taxes from all commercial activity taking place there.

As well as greatly increasing the Cathedral's income, throughout the 12th- and 13th-Centuries, this led to regular disputes, often violent, between the Bishops, the Chapter and the Civic Authorities – particularly when serfs, belonging to the Counts, transferred their trade (and taxes) to the Cathedral. In 1258, after a series of bloody riots instigated by the Count's officials, the Chapter finally gained permission from the King to seal off the area of the cloître and lock the gates each night.

Deutsch: Wandfläche mit Triforium.

English: Three tiers of wall structure of Chartres Cathedral: 

Arcade; Triforium; Clerestory (with 2 windows united by a small round Rosette window).

Photo: August 2006.

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Triforium_Chartres.jpg.

Author: BjörnT, BT from German Wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Even before the Gothic Cathedral was built, Chartres was a place of pilgrimage, albeit on a much smaller scale. During the Merovingian and Early-Carolingian eras, the main focus of devotion for pilgrims was a well (now located in the North side of Fulbert's Crypt), known as the Puits des Saints-Forts, or the 'Well of the Strong Saints', into which, it was believed, the bodies of various local Early-Christian Martyrs (including Saints Piat, Cheron, Modesta and Potentianus) had been tossed. The widespread belief that the Cathedral was also the site of a Pre-Christian Druidical sect, who worshipped a 'Virgin who will give birth', is purely a Late-Mediaeval invention.

In circa 876 A.D., the Cathedral acquired the Sancta Camisa, believed to be the tunic worn by the Blessed Virgin Mary at the time of Christ's birth. According to legend, the Relic was given to the Cathedral by Charlemagne, who received it as a gift from Emperor Constantine VI during a Crusade to Jerusalem. However, this legend was pure fiction (Charlemagne never went to the Holy Land) – probably invented in the 11th-Century to authenticate some Relics at the Abbey of St Denis. In fact, the Relic was a gift to the Cathedral from Charles the Bald and there is no evidence for its being an important object of pilgrimage prior to the 12th-Century.

Chartres Cathedral.

The West Front.

Photo: 26 August 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Atlant.

(Wikimedia Commons)

By the end of the 12th-Century, however, the Church had become one of the most important popular pilgrimage destinations in Europe. There were four great Fairs, which coincided with the main Feast Days of the Virgin: The Presentation; the Annunciation; the Assumption; and the Nativity. The Fairs were held in the area administered by the Cathedral and were attended by many of the pilgrims, in Town to see the Cloak of the Virgin.

Specific pilgrimages were also held in response to outbreaks of disease. When ergotism (more popularly known in the Middle Ages as "Saint Anthony's Fire") afflicted many victims, the Crypt of the original Church became a hospital to care for the sick.

Today, Chartres continues to attract large numbers of pilgrims, many of whom come to walk slowly around the Labyrinth, their heads bowed in Prayer – an entirely modern devotional practice, but one which the Cathedral authorities accommodate by removing the chairs from the Nave once a month.

PART TWO FOLLOWS.